


This Was Alright

by Arichuloco



Series: Heart and Soul [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 01:24:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11681103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arichuloco/pseuds/Arichuloco
Summary: Marinette started hearing whispers in her second year of lycée. There were a select few in her school that remembered what her mark looked like, and some that she was comfortable enough to still expose herself to. It was strange when her old elementary schoolmates would approach her and glance at the inside of her wrist, covered by a wide band wrapped around it, where everyone’s soulmark usually resided. And then,“I think I know who your soulmate is.”





	This Was Alright

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't beta read at all, so please feel free to comment if there are any mistakes in the tenses and whatnot.
> 
> Update:  
> I FOUND SO MANY MISTAKES GUYS WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME??!?!?!?!?

Not a lot of people hid their soulmarks. At least in the culture that she was exposed to, Marinette was very used to people exposing them, and even bearing them proudly. Some celebrities were the exception of that, knowing how crazy some fans could get if they really wanted something. For her, she was used to exposing her mark and not quite caring much if it could be seen or not. And when she did get self-conscious about it, it wasn’t like it mattered anymore since all of her classmates already knew what her mark looked like. Eventually, things like uncontrollable crushes and fleeting feelings became a thing of the past. It was easy to take care of when all that mattered to her was her dream to become a top designer in Paris.

Lycée was a change though. Marinette didn’t mean to hide her mark at first; it was just really, _really_ cold inside the building. But she did, and she found that a lot of the other students did it too. People Marinette knew didn’t have the same marks began to date each other and even fool around. She would’ve judged them a long time ago, but she understood their reasons why, even if she didn’t really feel like following their examples. It was easier to think that people had a choice first and to love and to feel within their own control before being stuck with someone for the rest of their lives. Some people felt by hiding their mark they’d feel like they were a bit in control for something for once, and it certainly didn’t hurt to have a few people tell Marinette that they had feelings for her, even if she didn’t reciprocate them much. She was a loyal person after all. It wouldn’t hurt or strain her in the slightest to wait for her own fated someone.

Marinette started hearing whispers in her second year of lycée. There were a select few in her school that remembered what her mark looked like, and some that she was comfortable enough to still expose herself to. It was strange when her old elementary schoolmates would approach her and glance at the inside of her wrist, covered by a wide band wrapped around it, where everyone’s soulmark usually resided. And then,

**“I think I know who your soulmate is.”**

Marinette blinked owlishly at her old friend, Nino, a perturbed expression on her face, she bet. And then she felt herself frown. “What? Who?”

He shrugged and looked away, it didn’t cross her mind at that moment to follow where his gaze lied, and she regretted that in retrospect. “He’s a transfer student.”

Marinette tried to recall the faces that she passed by in the morning, and even moreso the ones that she had spotted the last few days. She had been too preoccupied with trying not to be late to anything for once, and her own schoolwork to pay attention to any new faces in her grade. It should have been easy, considering that she already got along with _most_ people. She didn’t pride herself in it, but Marinette was at least confident that she knew nearly everyone that she’d had that same class and lunches with.

Maybe that was it. She didn’t have either of those with her supposed soulmate.

“Has he recently moved here?” she asked.

Nino nodded nonchalantly and Marinette continued to stare at him, still shocked. He wasn’t looking at her, and she really, really wished that she took the hint to follow his gaze, but she didn’t, so sucks. Only, when Marinette finally did, she didn’t really know what he was looking at, and he wasn’t looking that way anymore.

“Wait, what’s his name? Did you tell him?”

Nino shook his head and looked back in that damned direction she was sure now that he was looking at because her soulmate was there. “I thought you didn’t want to know? Because…” He rubbed his wrist, raising a questioning eyebrow. Self consciously, Marinette mirrored the action, knowing what he was implying to her.

“I don’t hide it because of…” She made an airy gesture with her hand that could have meant anything, but her friend got the point. “It’s really just a personal preference now.”

“You didn’t hide it back in elementary school.”

“That’s because that was elementary school! New people barely moved there,” Marinette tried to justify, a pout forming on her lips.

Nino shrugged but nodded, accepting the fact. “Yeah, you’re right.” He looked at her again, with that questioning look. Marinette had a lost feeling, not knowing whether she should look back to that place where he was suggesting she’d find her soulmate, or not look at all. Marinette was caught between caring and...not.

It was more conflicting than she would have liked it to be. It never really occurred to her what it would be like when she finally found her soulmate. Maybe she had subconsciously hoped that they would meet later on in life? That maybe she could support her relationship when she was already established and stable? Marinette hadn’t expected to meet her soulmate so soon. Many people would have wished to be in her position, discovering their soulmate during their teens, but Marinette was a very busy person. She didn’t know if she even had time to set aside for romance. At least that was what she told herself. She wasn’t a superhero.

“Are you going to tell him?”

Nino shook his head at her again and then started to turn away. “I haven’t told him anything, but I think he’d like it more if he found you out by himself.” He chuckled. “He’s quite a romantic, so I don’t think he’d forgive me if I took his moment away from him.”

It didn’t stop there. Old friends from Marinette’s old school started to talk to her about it. Even family relations came up to her. She wasn’t sure how they were connected, but Marinette figured that it was because they were friends with her rumoured soulmate too. This was starting to get overwhelming.

Marinette was staying late at school, being part of the costume department of their newest play; she wanted every detail to be perfect, when her best friend, Alya came around to bug her. “Hey! So you know how we’ve been getting word that people have found your soulmate? Well, I think that I finally met him.”

Marinette glanced up from her position on the floor being surrounded by a multitude of fabric, and she gave Alya a wistful smile. The hype was too familiar to her, but it never ceased to bring discomfort to Marinette’s gut. “Yeah? What about it? Did you see their mark?”

Alya frowned and leaned against one of the mannequins, a concerned look blooming on her face. “You don’t look too happy about hearing this. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. I know how often you get bothered about this, so I won’t be offended if you find this annoying at all.”

Marinette sighed but continued in her work. “It’s not that…”

“What is it then?”

“It’s just...” Marinette glanced down at her wrist, which she still kept a band wrapped around, despite the fact that she had been given a very good reason to take it off, especially with the soft rumour that her soulmate was attending the same school as hers. Marinette knew that the moment that Alya and Nino found out their matches to each other that they didn’t even give a moment’s hesitation before they revealed themselves and got to know each other better. “I feel like I’m not ready. Is that okay? Is that normal? I’ve been hearing about this mystery boy for months, and I still feel so conflicted about it. One part of me wants to suck it up and find him, but another part of me just tells me to leave it as it is.”

Marinette felt warm arms wrap around her, and she leaned into the comforting presence. Alya hushed her and rubbed her shoulder. “Hey girl, it’s not bad and it’s definitely not abnormal to feel scared of meeting your soulmate.”

“Is that what I am, Alya?” Marinette whispered glumly. “Am I scared?”

She hummed and stroked her fingers through Marinette’s dark hair. “You might be, but you’re the only one who can really know that, sweetie. But what I do know is that you’re an amazing girl who’s got such a successful future ahead of her, if this dress is supposed to say anything.”

Marinette looked up at her design, taking in the intricate design and embroidery that she herself had sown into it. This was all of her doing, and Alya was right to be proud of it. Marinette herself was pretty satisfied with her job. Even if she still felt like she could improve it, which was the very reason why she was still at school in the first place.

“Are you even sure that our marks match?” she asked quietly.

It was a futile attempt, she knew. If these many people, people who she spent vast amounts of time with, were questioning her and telling her about this mystery person, then it was practically confirmed. But something just told her to ask anyways. Maybe because she was scared, and Marinette just needed that one boost to get her back onto her feet.

Alya huddled closer to Marinette, tilting her head to the side when Marinette pulled up her arm. She slipped down her band, letting her best friend get a close look at her soulmark. It felt like she was exposing herself. Marinette hardly showed this to anybody anymore, and it felt unfamiliar to show it now. But she knew she could trust Alya. Especially when she already knew what it looked like. And knew how it looked like on somebody else’s wrist.

On the soft and tender skin of her left wrist, there lied a small black curve that ended with a vague shape of a cat with a splash of red placed across it that made it look like one of those watercolour tattoos that became viral a few years ago. Marinette figured that she was lucky that she got such a beautiful mark, but that was part of the reason why she kept it hidden. A lot of people liked Marinette’s mark, and she really wouldn’t hear the end of it if she let it out public. Marinette once thought that maybe it would be easier to find her soulmate, since she thought that she might have an artist as a soulmate. After all, soulmarks reflected on both bearers. For a short while, Marinette had suspected that Nathaniel could have been her soulmate, and his attraction to her only got her hopes up, but when they both revealed their soulmarks, Marinette recognized it, but it wasn’t hers.

From then on, Marinette was sure that the splash of red one her skin represented her, but she wasn’t certain what to think about the cattish semicircle. Was her soulmate really attached to a cat? Were they supposed to be a furry? Oh geez, she didn’t know how to deal with any of the theories that she had.

Alya nodded and gave Marinette an amused look. “I’ve always liked your soulmark.”

Yes. Her, and several others.

“I don’t even know why you asked me if I was sure since not a lot of people have marks like yours anyways.”

Marinette shrugged and tugged her band back down sheepishly. She clicked her tongue playfully. “Whatever you say. But they have the same mark as me?”

Alya nodded.

Marinette frowned at this. She was sure that if she let her mark loose that a lot of people would come and whisper about how pretty it was and all that commotion. If someone really had the same mark as her, then she probably would have heard it by now. Not to mention, Marinette probably would have been able to see it in the halls. Unless she didn’t get to pass them by the halls anyways. It wasn’t like she spent her time looking at people or their wrists when she moved from one class to the next.

Seeing her troubled expression, Alya decided to speak up. “What are you thinking about?”

Marinette’s frown deepened. “I’ve only heard about this person, but I haven’t seen them at all. I don’t hear anyone talking about any soulmark that looks like a painting or whatnot.”

“Maybe you just weren’t paying attention.” Alya started to look away, probably noticing how late it was or keeping on the lookout to not seem like they were fooling around after hours. Marinette supposed it was only now that she realized that there was no teacher supervision in the dress room.  “He usually keeps his sleeves up, but just like you he wears a band around his wrist.”

Marinette felt her heart plummet. Oh. So was he one of the others that liked to fool around before finding their soulmate? Or was he more like her and wanting some privacy? Was this the reason why despite hearing a lot about her soulmate that he hadn’t gone out and tried to look for her?

Alya spotted the insecurity behind Marinette’s eyes before she was able to go down that dark road. “Hey. He’s not like that. Trust me. I’ve met him, and Nino and I know that the only reason he wears that band is because his father makes him. Says something about how people will try to take advantage of him and pretend to have the same mark that he does.”

Marinette made a disgusted face, but not directed at Alya. “That’s so wrong! How can people do that?”

Alya smirked. “Well, your boy isn’t too hard on the eyes, Mari.” Then she raised her hands in defense. “It’s a fact that a whole lot of France knows, but I’m taken and happy where I am so I am short just tooth and nail making sure no one hits on your precious soulmate.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, questioning the strange words that Alya decided to use, but ignored it, figuring that she still needed to finish something up. “Alright then, thank you very much for protecting my soulmate, if that was what you were waiting for, but I still need to finish this, and I know that I have about half an hour before Ms. Mendelev comes around to grade the labs.”

Alya laughed at Marinette’s reply and shook her head. “I still can’t believe that you memorized the teachers’ schedules to get away with sneaking around in school.”

Marinette only wiggled her brows through a sly smile filled with needles.

* * *

She’d been hearing about her soulmate so often, that she really shouldn’t have been surprised, but she couldn’t help how her body nearly froze in place in the middle of the cafeteria seeing her mark on somebody else’s wrist. Despite the fact that she tried, she still managed to make a small scene of seeing the mark.

Marinette slowed down a bit on her usual route to the table where Alya friends sat, since yesterday she had asked her mom to let her eat at school instead of home, when she saw the mark. She’d heard from Alya that he usually wore a band around his wrist, which was probably why she didn’t see until now. But today, he must’ve forgotten the band, or maybe completely discarded it, and Marinette could see clear as day the brilliant splash of colour that decorated the inside of his right wrist, and how it disregarded the black circle that was placed right in the center of it.

Marinette looked at the person who bore the same mark as her, sitting beside Nino and laughing at a joke, and she felt her chest clench up in mixed feelings.

Because _of course. Of course_ it had to belong to the son of her most admired fashion designer, someone that she had a hard time avoiding for the sake of not humiliating herself in front of her idol’s son. She knew who he was. The sunshine child that Marinette had been fawning over and admiring from afar, but quietly, so that she wouldn’t feel so guilty for betraying her soulmate. It might’ve been part of the reason why she wasn’t so eager to find out who her soulmate was, in the terrible feeling that she was being unfaithful. But she didn’t have to worry at all, because it turned out, in life’s funny way of messing around, that this boy that she’d been beating herself up over had been her soulmate all along.

Adrien Agreste was her soulmate.

Marinette was staring. She knew that. And she also knew that his friends were starting to notice her gaping. In the back of her mind Marinette considered walking towards him and taking off her band from her wrist, because the fact that Adrien wasn’t hiding had to mean something, right? He wasn’t like Marinette, afraid of his mark. He wasn’t really pretending that he could be with anyone else other than the one he was fated to be with. The only reason why he had to hide was because he was just one of Paris’ famed model. He was open and he was completely willing to go along with whomever his soulmate was to be.

But was Marinette?

Adrien was looking at her now. Marinette knew that she really should’ve stopped staring. And she did, eventually. She walked past him and his group of friends at the table, terribly aware of the mark that hid underneath the piece of cloth around her wrist. Marinette could feel some curious and lingering gazes, and a knowing one from Nino, but she was confident that she schooled her features and her shock fast enough to seem like she’d only admired Adrien’s unique mark. By the time Marinette reached her table, none of them were looking at her anymore, and she was nothing but a passing thought. By the time Marinette reached her table, she decided that maybe she should keep it that way.

What would people think of her? An aspiring fashion designer having the son of her idol as her soulmate. Now, wasn’t that awfully convenient? People would think that she was trying to take advantage of him, that she had gone low enough to fake her soulmark, something that Alya had previously mentioned that people really did. People would hate her and they would hurt her for something that she had no control over. Marinette didn’t think that she could handle that for herself and her future as a fashion designer. The world of fashion was vicious, and of course, art did imitate life.

Now that she knew, Marinette couldn’t help but feel an itch whenever she saw Adrien in the halls or in the cafeteria. She felt like her mark was calling out to her desperately to let herself be known. And it wasn’t only her, apparently. Marinette’s friends were starting to take notice of a boy that had a mark that looked similar to hers, although they couldn’t really remember if it really was like hers since they didn’t get to see her mark often. And then Marinette lied, telling them that she knew who they were talking about and that no, it wasn’t the same mark.

The few people who knew her mark well knew that Marinette wasn’t ready, but they didn’t say anything.

Not until the second semester of the year came around.

“You do know that you’re only hurting yourself?”

Marinette shrugged and continued reading her book. It was a rare morning that Marinette came to school early, and she’d decided to spend her time in the library reading up on some fashion history. Alya decided to stay with her in one of the private seminar rooms, where Marinette had also decided that she’d be spending in to pass her lunch period whenever her mom decided to pack lunch, instead of spending it on watching her soulmate fool with his friends around in the cafeteria, completely unbothered by her own internal struggle. Marinette’s luck stuck her to having the same lunch time as him.

 _Again_.

“Famous people have a tendency of moving a lot. You might not be able to see him again.”

Marinette looked at Alya to let her know that she heard her, but she still shrugged and continued to read her book.

“Don’t you think that it’s just unfair that he’s being honest enough now to show his mark?” Yes, Marinette had noticed that he’s been wearing his band less. Maybe he took it off during school, against the wishes of his father. And probably against better judgement too, since Marinette knew that he was putting himself up for potential danger by not hiding his mark. “That probably means that he’d be really excited to meet you, y’know.” Alya glanced pointedly at her wrist, which was still covered. “It’s not fair that you know and he doesn’t.”

“So what if he doesn’t know?” Marinette grumbled. “It’d be doing him a favour. He doesn’t have to know that plain old Marinette is his stupid soulmate and when he leaves he can go and fool around with someone else without having me to hold him back.”

Alya’s gaze softened a fraction, but she wasn’t going to let her best friend talk herself out of this long overdue conversation. “Is that the reason why you’re still hiding from him? Because as far as I know, he probably already knows that it’s you, and he’s just waiting for you to say something about it.”

“I highly doubt that.” Marinette hadn’t put down her book, but she wasn’t reading anymore. She found herself staring blankly at the words and images, figuring it easier to stare at them rather than meet Alya’s scrutinizing glare. “Otherwise I wouldn’t hear the end of it from Nino and his friends telling me to talk to him about it.”

“You do also realize that you avoid them everywhere that you go? You’re like the nicest girl in this school, Mari, and people do notice when you avoid them because of that.”

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

“That means that they’re afraid to talk to you because they think that they messed up somewhere that you know they didn’t.”

Marinette sighed and finally put the book down. If Alya’s goal was supposed to be to make her feel bad for treating others badly, it was starting to work. “Okay, so they won’t talk to me. Then why won’t he say something?”

When Marinette turned to look at her, Alya looked exactly how she expected her to: exasperated. “ _Because_ he’s probably waiting!”

Marinette sighed again and slouched into her seat. Yeah, sure she’d believe that. Marinette was more than familiar with Alya’s habit to blow up the truth to get her way. Marinette might’ve unintentionally rubbed off on her too much with her dramatics. “Yeah, and do you notice him spending time with me and looking at me? Because I hardly see him around the school unless it’s lunch.” Alya glanced up, distracted by something. Marinette nearly rolled her eyes, but she was still getting to her point. “Now, if I were totally intrigued in getting to know about my soulmate, I’d want to spend as much time as possible with them and knowing about them. I might even go out of my way to find them and spend time in the same vicinity as them, even if it’s not _with_ them. Kinda similar to a crush.”

Alya looked at her pointedly and shook her head. “You didn’t even notice him walk inside the library.”

Marinette’s eyes widened at this, and she lifted herself a bit off the seat to see through the window into the library, which was inconveniently placed just a few inches above her eye level. Just outside, sitting at a table that was placed directly in front of her position at the window, was Adrien, along with three other friends, one of which being Nino. He was sitting on the far end of the table, meaning that if he looked up he could look at Marinette. She felt the telltale feeling of tingling at her cheeks when to prove her suspicions correct, Adrien glanced up and met her gaze. Warmth washed over Marinette, and she couldn’t deny anymore the rush of electricity she knew was definitely a side effect of the soul bonds. She promptly let herself fall back into her seat.

There was a pregnant moment of silence between her and Alya just as she took in the time to comprehend this moment. And then, without another word, Marinette picked her book up, opened to the page that she was on, and tried to continue reading like the heated conversation between her and Alya never happened, that Adrien didn’t come into the library and sit right across from her (despite the fact that they were only separated by a window), and that Alya wasn’t staring at Marinette like she’d ignored that the end of the world was happening.

“Are you serious right now?”

Marinette glanced up at her, and then out the window, where she could now only see the top of Adrien’s blonde head. Marinette couldn’t tell if he was looking at her, and she cursed the fact that she cared so much. “It’s probably a coincidence. Adrien couldn’t possibly know that I’m in the library unless someone told him.”

That, or maybe he looked over the whole school and decided to go to the library once he couldn’t find her. But what were the odds that he was looking for Marinette anyways? He probably came to the library to work on something. Marinette was a bit envious of him, if that turned out to be true. He had such an admirable work ethic if he came to the library to study this early into the semester.

“I highly doubt that he came here to study.”

“Then maybe he came here to stream something with his friends.”

“He could do that anywhere else in the school, you know.”

Marinette sighed and put her book down again. She lost her train of thought in that book. It was a goner. “There’s no way Adrien knows that I’m his soulmate, and even if someone did tell him that I was, he wouldn’t believe it until he saw it for himself.”

Alya leaned forward into the table, her eyes wide. “So?! Tell him! What is the problem anyways?”

Leaning back, Marinette ran a hand through her tuft of bangs. What exactly was the problem? “I don’t want him to be disappointed.” She half expected her friend to speak up again, but was met with silence. “Adrien doesn’t look like the type to be impressed with me. You already know how I feel about this. We belong in different worlds, Alya.”

“You won’t be in the future, Marinette. Don’t you want to enter the world of fashion?”

“Yes, but I don’t like how that implied that I’d be getting fashion connections through him and his family. I want to be recognized by my own work, Alya. Anyways, how exactly are we going to get along? There’s nothing to talk about.”

“You don’t really get to say that since you haven’t really tried to talk to him yourself.”

Marinette almost flinched. Alya was right. She didn’t really give him a chance yet. “Okay, but it’s not just that. I’m also worried about the fact that he won’t like me. I’m just afraid that he’s going around to see if the rumours are true, but he’s really hoping that I don’t have a matching mark. So he’s just checking to make sure that he’d still available.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works. Take it from me, girl. If anything, he’d be reacting the same way you are if he really didn’t want it to be you. I don’t think that he’d want to find out at all. Mari, you’re just making this harder for yourself.”

She looked at Alya again, this time not with a look of apprehension, but one of fatigue and barely masked desperation. “What would you have me do? I don’t want to just show off my mark or one day stop wearing this.” She gestured to her wrapped wrist. “People will start talking and I don’t want him to get his confirmation that way.”

For the first time in their conversation, Alya shrugged. “I don’t know. You can just talk to him?”

“Okay, but how will I approach him? Do I say ‘hey, so you’ve been hearing rumors that we’re soulmates and I can totally confirm to you that it is 100% true’, or do I just go up to him and flash my mark at his face?”

“Honestly, that’s all up to you. I personally think that you should just be yourself around him. Adrien isn’t so hard to talk to. He’s really nice to everyone he knows. Even Chloe, she is the most annoying pest around him, you have no idea.”

Marinette made a face of distaste. “Is this what you meant when you told me that you nearly fought tooth and nail to protect Adrien from getting hit on?”

“ _Mon Dieu_ , you finally understand.”

So Marinette decided to stop wearing her band around her wrist. She still wore her sleeves down, but sometimes she forgot about it and pushed them up to her elbows. When people mentioned it and complimented it, she was often asked why she decided to show it off now. And Marinette would tell them, “It’s because I found my soulmate, but he hasn’t found me yet.”

Funnily enough, despite the fact that Marinette stopped wearing her band, Adrien didn’t see her mark. Not for another two weeks anyhow. It frustrated her to no end how he wouldn’t see it, despite the fact that he sat across from her at the library table on the days that he realized that she wasn’t coming to the cafeteria. Marinette was frustrated, but she was still comforted at the routine that they both took. It felt nice, when she was sitting at her usual spot in the private room, and then she would see his figure walk through the library doors and take his spot across from her. Sometimes he’d come with his friends, but usually he came alone. It was when Marinette realized that this was becoming a regular routine between the two of them that she began to question if Adrien really didn’t know if they were soulmates.

So one day, when both of them were already a few minutes into reading (Marinette noticed that Adrien used to go through his phone, but now he brought books with him to read. It was a bit of a fond notice that soulmates could really change each other), she made a rash decision.

Her body moved before her mind could come up with reasons to chicken out. Before Marinette could even think about what could go wrong, she picked up her things and brought them out of the room. Adrien looked up as she came out, with curiosity, but also recognizable disappointment in his gaze. Was he sad that she was going to leave him? Marinette felt sympathy and understanding in that moment. Maybe she wasn’t the only one that was afraid. Maybe in that moment, Adrien was worried that he’d scared her and that he was thinking that maybe that comfortable routine that they had settled with was only one sided.

Marinette didn’t want him to think that way.

So she sat down beside him, to his right. Adrien’s expression read shock and disbelief at her actions. He almost looked starstruck, or at least something similar to it, which was funny considering who he was. But honestly, if Marinette was in his position too, she’d be shocked. She wouldn’t have believed that what was in front of her was really happening. Marinette said nothing and pulled up her sleeves, before opening her book to her bookmarked page and continued on reading, well aware that her wrist was terribly close to his. Close enough that if he really wanted to, he could reach out and turn it to see what her soul mark was.

A part of Marinette doubted that he would. Doubted that Adrien was bold enough, that neither of them were comfortable enough with each other to initiate that kind of contact. Especially one as intimate as inquiring about soul marks. But she hoped. Marinette hoped that this was enough of a sign that they were more than just strangers that took comfort in sitting a distance away from each other. It really was more than enough, considering that she actually sat beside him when there was just about anywhere else to sit.

In the corner of her eye, Marinette watched as Adrien hesitantly reached out for her wrist. She looked up from her book, seeing him look into her eyes with hesitation, but also with a desperate request lying underneath. They looked at each other in silence, Marinette getting lost in his eyes, green like spring and the dawn of new life and new beginnings. She drowned in his gaze, and yet she didn’t want to be anywhere else. Adrien looked at Marinette with question in his eyes, but she didn’t deny that she also saw a deep fondness and something inside him that told her that if she asked, if she just said the word, he would give her all the love that she asked for from him.

Marinette was completely enamored.

Adrien’s touch was gentle when he slowly guided her hand away from her book and towards him. He rotated her wrist to face upwards, and only then did he break away from Marinette’s gaze to look at her soul mark. She watched his expression, but she didn’t get the shock or the frown that she expected. If anything, Marinette was the one surprised to hear the satisfied huff of breath that escaped through his nose and the soft smile that graced his lips. She was even more surprised when Adrien didn’t let go, but rather he slid his fingers through hers into a loose hold and went back to reading.

His hands were warmer than hers, Marinette noticed.

She raised her eyebrows, and she knew for sure that Adrien knew that she was completely surprised by him. But he kept on reading on, all but ignoring her if it weren’t for that smug look on his face that let Marinette know that he knew exactly what he was doing. She let out a soft laugh of her own, a bit shy, and gave him a soft squeeze, taking comfort during her reading when he squeezed back.

This was alright, she decided.


End file.
